Soothingly Pensive, A Gothic Inspiration and The Worst Sequel | Review

Soothingly Pensive

This is the best book I read in 2014. And I knew this was something special while reading Jeevan's first chapter as he strolls through the snow-covered park. It was absolutely beautiful. Each point of view felt like I was comfortably sitting inside the mind of each character as their thoughts, anxieties, and dreams passed by. The book was so soothingly pensive despite its apocalyptic circumstances.

Usually, post-apocalyptic and dystopian novels dwell on violence, destruction, and the fall of morality. But what's remarkable about Station Eleven is that it doesn't do that. There's endurance which is shown as each character is somehow connected with each other, bringing forth one of the purest form of hope I've seen in a novel.

 A Gothic Inspiration

This book is such an inspiration. In many YA books, I notice historical events are a backdrop to support the romance, paranormal, fantasy, and or supernatural elements of the book. However, The Cure for Dreaming most definitely does not do that. Cat Winters constantly reminds her readers that this book is predominantly a novel about women's suffrage and rights in America and how one girl reflects many others who have had to overcome their limitations during a time fraught with sexism.

It's also amazing how she captures the cusp of this historical movement, while seeping in the creep factors so appropriate for Halloween. I love how she brings the supernatural and paranormal, genres specific to Europe and the east coast, to the Pacific north west. Such transformations are refreshing.

This is one of the best YA books out there and I recommend it to historical and paranormal/supernatural lovers alike. After reading the last page, I was filled with so much promise!

The Worst Sequel to a Trilogy

This is by far the worst sequel to a series I've ever read. Usually, when forbidden lovers finally come together, there is a sigh of relief. I let out a breath of exasperation. Kaidan and Anna's relationship is full of flaws like any other normal relationship. I have no issue with that. What bothers me is the pretense of resolution when there was none, as seen in the chapter when both arrive at Kaidan's bachelor pad and begin cleaning the place up as if they were cleaning up all the problems in their relationship. It was horrible. The imbalance of their relationship is horrible. I'm sure I wasn't the only one ripping my hair out whilst reading Anna's sheer neediness and Kaidan's stupidity. There is a point when a story veers from angsty romance to petty drama.

There was also no character development from anyone. Most of Anna's prophet work was done by her father and friends. And we as readers didn't get any insight on this big strategy. All of Anna's friends were one-dimensional and rotated around for character exposure, rather than significance.

There was so much promise for this series! I loved the paranormal concept, but it really fell apart in Sweet Peril. I actually had to stop reading the book for a week after Anna and Kaidan reunited because I was so frustrated. But I'm going to give this series another chance by reading Sweet Reckoning. 

How to Survive Your Book Buying Ban | Bookish Musings

Do you buy way too many books? Have you been spending more money on books than food? And have you not finished most of the books you bought in recent months? If so, a self-quarantined Book-Buying Ban is in order!

What's a Book-Buying Ban? Well, its exactly what it sounds like. Additionally, it's when readers, quite simply, stop purchasing books because their TBR (to-be-read) pile has gone up and too many books have been on the back-burner. 

I've put myself on the Book-Buying-Ban for obvious reasons. Also, my TBR list has actually hindered my book-shopping experience. Shopping for books is not as enjoyable as it used to be because I'm always thinking of unfinished books and it drives me nuts! It's not the book themselves, it's me and it's got to end.

Thus, I've compiled a list to aid me in Book-Buying endeavors because book-buying bans are a lot harder than you'd think. These tips have helped me successfully achieve my book-buying ban and I hope they help you as well :).

1. Set a goal, usually a number of books you'd like to finish before your next book purchase. Considering the number of books I had on my TBR pile, I set my goal to finish at least five books.
2. Set a deadline. This could be a holiday, birthday, the end of the month, etc. For me, I received a Barnes & Noble coupon that expires on November 16th, which became my deadline. Voila!
3. Resist temptation, in other words avoid bookshops! This is the most simple, yet most difficult obstacle to overcome. Personally, after a hard day at work I have the urge to visit my local bookshop and submerge myself with books and words. It is so tempting! But I think of my goal and deadline and steer (literally) away from the bookshop when driving home.
4. Pick up a random book that has been sitting on your shelf for months and start reading! Most likely, you'll realize the book is amazing and you'll wonder why you hadn't read it sooner. This is true! For example, The Salinger Contract by Adam Salinger had been sitting on my shelf for months. One night, I randomly picked it up and it became one of the best books I read this year.

And The Best Quote of The Year Goes To | Bookish Musings

"That the author is speaking only to us, that he is writing only for us, that no one on Earth has the same relationship to that author as we do. I have the same fantasy every time I read a book I love, no matter who wrote it, no matter when it was written. That the author has written his book only for me." The Salinger Contract by Adam Langer

Ghosts, Asylums and Vampires | Recommendations

"Autumn is the hardest season. The leaves are all falling, and they're falling like they're falling in love w ith the ground."

Fall is my absolute favorite season. I don't think I truly fell in love with this season until I went to Paris and saw the breath-taking trees au Jardin des Plantes change color. That was also the beginning of my love affair with the color Orange (as you can see my blog layout). Sorry Purple, step aside.

And what better way to celebrate the fall season than a 

*drumroll* 

HALLOWEEN BOOK RECOMMENDATION! ... list... favorites... get chyo hands on.

 

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix was recently published last month and I did an in-depth review of an advanced-readers-copy last month right here. At first glance, the cover looks like an IKEA catalog, but if you look closely you can see the horror lurking in the... picture frames. The book is Saw-like but it's definitely refreshing. Employees of an IKEA-like furniture superstore called Orsk decide to take on a graveyard shift after finding continual signs of break-in and vandalism.They're in for a surprise as a simple floor sweep takes them deep into the horrifying history and secret of the land Orsk is built upon.

The Asylum by John Harwood is a Gothic horror treasure. His Victorian-inspired narration is nostalgic of the Classics, but also uniquely addicting. I love it! I also consider my discovery of this book a bit John Harwood-like (teehee). I had stumbled upon an obscure review in an out-dated Literary Review magazine. Immediately intrigued, I tracked down the only hardcover copy in Los Angeles at a small bookshop on the coast of Malibu. This horror thriller is about Georgina Ferrars who wakes up at an asylum in the English countryside with no memory of how she got there. On top of that, her identity has been stolen dun, Dun, DUN!

Halfway to the Grave is book one of the Night Huntress series, which is one of my favorite paranormal romance series. If you like this book, you're in for a treat because the series is complete with six additional books! Half human, half vampire Catherine Crawford hates vampires. In fact, she's made it her duty to go out and kill them with the hope of finding her vampire father. After meeting Bones, a sexy vampire bounty hunter, she forms an unlikely partnership with him to go after the bad guys. There's action, blood, snappy and witty dialogues, and sexy times. I also recommend the spin-off Night Prince series.

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa is book one of the Blood of Eden series and one of my all-time favorite YA series. It's a heady combination of vampires, romance, and dystopia, with a hint of Walking Dead nomadism and zombie-like abominations. The Immortal Rules follows Allison Sekemoto in a vampire-dominated world where everyday is a test of life or death. This is not your typical girl-meets-vampire love story. It's raw, gutty, and evokes controversial questions of humanity and morality. And Allison is one of my favorite YA heroines of all time. ALL TIME. She has so much character development. When people hear of character development, they think of a character becoming stronger, wiser, and perhaps more kick-ass, but Allison is already all of those things. That's why it's so remarkable seeing her grow in other ways. 

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead | Review

Discovered: Movie Trailer

Status: Read

Purchased: Kobo

Mode: E-Book

Goodreads Rating: **

Summary:

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . . -Goodreads

In-Depth:
I thoroughly enjoy vampire tropes and was excited to begin the Vampire Academy. Thank goodness, I didn't jump in and purchase the boxed set because I didn't completely enjoy the first book.

I admit, I don't read many YA books that emphasize high school life. It's difficult for me to read from a heroine's POV that is fully in high school mode when my own gap between now and high school is increasing. However, the vampire world building and the intricacies of social and class hierarchy were truly fascinating.

My biggest and only problem with the book was Rose. Yes, I heard this character goes through extensive character development throughout the series (thank goodness), but she truly annoyed me in Vampire Academy. I know that her reckless and passionate behavior are causes of her being shadow-kissed, but that doesn't excuse the fact that she was a judgmental douche. And it's hard to relate and cheer-on a judgmental douche. I did not like her judgments of Natalie just because she was "plain and boring". I cringed when reading what she did to Mia, despite the fact that Mia was just as horrible. And I had to take a break after her horrible behavior with Christian. I don't care if she's a badass novice soon-to-be greatest Guardian of all. My admiration for a character is built on character, not action.

Reading from Rose's POV was so irritating that I hurried to finish the book just to be done with her. I'm still thinking about continuing with the series just to see how much Rose develops but not anytime soon.